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SCQ
T H E S C I E N C E C R E AT I V E QUA RT E R LY

BIOMIMICRY/BIMIMETICS:GENERALPRINCIPLESANDPRACTICALEXAMPLES
by S E A N K E N N E DY ( H T T P : / / W W W. S C Q . U B C . C A / A U T H O R / S E A N K E N N E DY / )

(August2004)

Designsolutionscandrawinspirationfrommanysources,includingtheanatomy,physiology,andbehaviourofliving
systems.Forinstance,manyAboriginalAlaskansstalksealsinasimilarfashiontothewaypolarbearshuntthesmaller
marinemammals[1].Industryalsoimitatesnature:JosephPaxtonusedthestructureofalilypadasinspirationto
designtheCrystalPalacein18512,anditiswellknownthattheWrightbrotherswereavidbirdwatchers,andtheir
airplanewingdesignwasmodeledafterbirds[1].Inrecenttimes,scientistshavebeguntotakemoreideasfromnature,
aswascommonpriortotheindustrialrevolution,nowmorethaneverwiththeexplosioninbiotechnologicalprogress.
Biomimeticsiscurrentlybeingusedtoexploreavarietyofdesignprojects,includingthedevelopmentofdifferent
biomaterials(mostnotablyspidersilk)aswellasrobotsbasedonanimalmodels.

Scientistshaverecentlycoinedsomenamesforthespecificuseofnatureasinspirationindesign.Inthe1960sJack
Steele,aresearcherwiththeUnitedStatesAirForce,coinedthewordBionics,referringtocopyingnature,ortaking
ideasfromnature[2].Morerecently,theprocessofdrawinginspirationfromnatureformanmadedesignhasbeen
interchangeablydesignatedbiomimicryorbiomimetics.Biomimicry(frombios,meaninglife,andmimesis,meaningto
imitate)referstostudyingnaturesmostsuccessfuldevelopmentsandthenimitatingthesedesignsandprocessesto
solvehumanproblems.Itcanbethoughtofasinnovationinspiredbynature.[1]Manysuccessfulbusinesseshave
subscribedtothiswayofthinking.DarcyWinslow,GeneralManagerofEnvironmentalBusinessOpportunitiesforNike
Incorporated,statesthatBiomimicrystillrequiresexploration,innovationandcreativity,butbythinkinglikeorworking
withabiologistwemustlearntoaskadifferentsetofquestionsandlooktonatureforinspirationandlearning
opportunities[3].Someoftheunderlyingprinciplesofthisproblemsolvingprocesseshavebeenrecentlycompiled,
andgiventhemonikerofanewfieldofscience.

Biomaterials

Onemajorapplicationofbiomimeticsisthefieldofbiomaterials,whichinvolvesmimickingorsynthesizingnatural
materials,andapplyingthistopracticaldesign.Therearemanyexamplesofmaterialsinnaturethatexhibitunique
usefulproperties.Oneofthemajoradvantagesofbiomaterialsisthattheyarenormallybiodegradeable.Inaddition,the
extremetemperaturesandhazardouschemicalsoftenusedinmanmadeconstructionareusuallyunnecessarywith
naturalalternatives4.

Spidersilkisoneofthemostsoughtafterbiomaterials,gainingareputationastheHolyGrailofbiomaterials.This
material,producedbyspecialglandsinaspidersbody,hastheadvantageofbeingbothlightandflexible,andpound
forpoundisroughlythreetimesstrongerthansteel:thetensilestrengthoftheradialthreadsofspidersilkisis1,154
Mpawhilesteelis400Mpa[5].Thewebiscomposedoftwotypesofsilk,themajorampullatesilk,whichformsthe
draglineandwebframe,andtheviscidsilk,whichformsthegluecoveredcatchingspiral[6].

Foraflyinginsecttobecaught,thespiderswebmustslowitsmotiontoahaltbyabsorbingkineticenergy.Theforce
requiredtostoptheinsectsmotionisinverselyproportionaltothedistanceoverwhichthemotionmustbestopped[6].
Thelongerthedistanceoverwhichtheinsectissloweddown,thesmallertheforcenecessarytostopit,reducingthe
potentialfordamagetotheweb.

Theincrediblepropertiesofspidersilkareduetoitsuniquemolecularstructure(Fig.1).Xraydiffractionstudieshave

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shownthatthesilkiscomposedoflongaminoacidchainsthatformproteincrystals.Themajorityofsilksalsocontain
betapleatedsheetcrystalsthatformfromtandemlyrepeatedaminoacidsequencesrichinsmallaminoacidresidues
[6].Theseaminoacidsequencesarecomposedofan810residuepolyalanineblockanda2435residueglycinerich
block.Theresultingbetasheetcrystalscrosslinkthefibroinsintoapolymernetworkwithgreatstiffness,strengthand
toughness.Thiscrystallinecomponentisembeddedinarubberycomponentthatpermitsextensibility,composedof
amorphousnetworkchains1620aminoacidresidueslong6.Itisthisextensibilityandtensilestrength,combinedwith
itslightweight,thatenablewebstopreventdamagefromwindandtheiranchoringpointsfrombeingpulledoff.

Figure1.Thestructureofastrandofsilk

Despitethehighdemandforspidersilkasabuildingmaterial,thedifficultiessurroundingitsharvesthaveprecluded
largescaleproduction.AnewbiotechnologyfirminQuebec,NexiaBiotechnologies,hassuccessfullyexpressedthesilk
genesoftwospiderspeciesinthemilkofatransgenicgoat[7].Thescientistsexpressedthegenes,foundby
researchersattheUniversityofWyoming,usingsomaticcellnucleartransfer(theprocessusedinmammaliancloning).
Also,themannerinwhichmammaryglandscreatethelongaminoacidchainsfoundinmilkenablestheformationof
spidersilk8.Afterwards,thesilkcanbeprecipitatedfromthemilk,andtheresultisaweblikematerialcalledBiosteel
[7].Thistechnologycouldhaveapplicationsinthefieldofmedicine,asanewformofstrong,toughartificialtendons,
ligamentsandlimbs.Spidersilkcouldalsobeusedtohelptissuerepair,woundhealingandtocreatesuperthin,
biodegradablesuturesforeyeorneurosurgery,aswellasbeingusedasasubstituteforkevlar[1].

Robotics

Asecondapplicationofbiomimeticsisthefieldofrobotics.Animalmodelsarebeingusedastheinspirationformany
differenttypesofrobots.Researcherscloselystudythemechanicsofvariousanimals,andthenapplythese
observationstorobotdesign.Thegoalistodevelopanewclassofbiologicallyinspiredrobotswithgreaterperformance
inunstructuredenvironments[9],abletorespondtochangingenvironmentalfactorssuchasirregularterrain.Unlike
traditionalsciencefictionviewsofrobotsthatcloselyresembleanimalsinoutwardappearance,todaysresearchers
normallystudyoneormorepartsofananimal,inordertogainaworkingknowledgeforaspecificfunction.One
exampleistomimicthelegandjointstructureofanimalsforuseinrobotmobility.Acurrentcollaborationamong
roboticsandphysiologyresearchersatStanford,U.C.Berkeley,HarvardandJohnsHopkinsUniversitiesinvolves
modellingthejointandlegstructureofthecockroachforthedevelopmentofahexapedalrunningrobot.Theystudied
thegroundreactionforcesincockroachlocomotion,thedirectionoftheseforcesrelativetothehipjoints,andthe
differentmovementsoftheindividuallegs[9].

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Theseresearchershaveusedbiomimicryofthecockroach,oneofnaturesmostsuccessfulspecies,todesignandbuild
sprawlleggedrobotsthatcanmoveveryquickly(uptofivebodylengthspersecond)(Fig.2).Inaddition,theserobots
areverygoodatmanoeuvringinchangingterrain,andcancontinueforwardmotionwhenencounteringhipheight
obstaclesoruphillanddownhillslopesofupto24degrees[9].Thesetypesofsmall,fastrobotscouldpotentiallybe
usedformilitaryreconnaissance,bombdefusionanddeminingexpeditions.

Figure2.Thecockroachlegisaprimecandidateforbiomimicry

BiomimeticrobotsareevenbeingconsideredbyNASAsInstituteforAdvancedConceptsforuseinexploringtheplanet
Mars.Whiletheseideasareonlyinthebrainstormingphase,manyresearchersbelievethatonlyrobotsdesignedbased
oninsectmodelswouldbeabletogenerateenoughliftinMarslowdensityatmospheretotakeoff,hoverandlandto
exploretheRedPlanet[10].However,onemustbearinmindthatthefluiddynamicsofsmallinsectsareverydifferent
fromthatoflargerobots.SincetinyorganismsinteractwiththeirfluidenvironmentatdifferentReynoldsnumbers(a
valueindicatingtheviscosityofthefluidrelativetothesizeoftheorganism),theairthroughwhichtheyflyisrelatively
moreviscousthanitwouldbeforalargerorganism,likeswimmingthroughmolassesasopposedtowater[4].Asa
result,onecannotbecertainthatalargescalemodelofinsectflightwouldbeabletointeractwiththeairinthesame
wayasarealinsecttoenableflight(thisproblemwouldalsobeworsenedbythethinatmosphereonMars).

Conclusion

Biomimeticsorbiomimicryisausefultoolinthedesignprocess.Initscurrentincarnationitallowspresentandfuture
designersamodernapproachtotheancientpracticeofimitatingnature.

WorkCited
1.Benyus,JanineM.Biomimicry:InnovationInspiredbyNature.Morrow,NewYork(1997).

2. CentreforBiomimetics(http://www.rdg.ac.uk/Biomim/centre.htm)(website).SchoolofConstructionManagementand
Engineering.TheUniversityofReading,Whiteknights,England.(2003).

3.BuckminsterFullerInstitute(website).Biomimicry.Sebastopol,CA.(2003).www.bfi.org(http://www.bfi.org)

4.Demont,E.(Personalcommunication).BiologyProfessor,St.FrancisXavierUniversity,Antigonish,NS.(2003).

5.Vogel,Steven.ComparativeBiomechanics:LifesPhysicalWorld.PrincetonUniversityPress,Princeton,NJ.(2003).

6.GoslineJ.M.,GueretteP.A.,OrtleppC.S.&SavageK.N.TheMechanicalDesignofSpiderSilks:FromFibroin
SequencetoMechanicalFunction.TheJournalofExperimentalBiology202,32953303(1999)

7.Atkins,E.Silkssecrets.Nature(newsandviews).(424).28Aug2003.p1010.

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8.LazarisA,ArcidiaconoS,YueH,JiangFengZ,DuguayF,ChretienN,WelshEA,SoaresJW,KaratzasCN.Spider
SilkFibersSpunfromSolubleRecombinantSilkProducedinMammalianCells.Science295,472476(2002).

9.ClarkJE,ChamJG,BaileySA,FroehlichEM,NahataPK,FullRJ,CutkoskyMR.BiomimeticDesignandFabrication
ofaHexapedalRunningRobot.IEEEInternationalConferenceonRoboticsandAutomation.(2001).
Hoversten,P(website).AnimalLikeRobotsCouldExplorePlanets.WashingtonBureauChief,Spacenews.Springfield,
VA.(2000).www.space.com(http://www.space.com)

(ArtbyJenPhilpott)

07.16.2006archive/textbook

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